6 wind farms to rise in Northern Samar

WINDY TOWN The municipality of San Roque is one of the six towns in Northern Samar where wind farms will be constructed, as they have the capacity to harness wind from land and sea to generate power. —PHILIPPINE TRAVEL NOTES

TACLOBAN CITY—Northern Samar will soon be the home to six wind farms seen to boost the energy needs and decrease the power rates of the province.

The Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a global leader in renewable energy investments based in Denmark, will build wind farms with a capacity of 650 megawatts (MW) in different locations in the province with a capital infusion of P108 billion, according to the Provincial Information Office (PIO) of Northern Samar.

The Northern Samar offshore wind power project will be located in the towns of Bobon, Mondragon, San Roque, Pambujan, Laoang and Catarman, the provincial capital, the PIO said.

The 650 MW to be generated by the wind farms would be more than enough to supply the electric needs of Northern Samar, which stands at 60 MW, allowing for energy infusion into the Visayas grid.

The six towns were chosen based on a wind map indicating that they have the capacity to harness wind from land and sea and generate power, according to the PIO.

The construction of the wind farms in Northern Samar was confirmed by Ernesto de los Reyes, director of the Investment Assistance Service of the Board of Investments on Jan. 25, the same day Gov. Edwin Ongchuan met with the executives of the CIP about the project.

“This will be a big help to Northern Samar. Aside from addressing our power needs, it will likely result in the reduction of our power rate,” Jhon Allen Berbon, provincial information officer and also the concurrent provincial economic and development investments promotion office head, said in a private message interview on Jan. 29.

Predevelopment stage

The province’s electric cooperative, the Northern Samar Electric Power Cooperative, has a current power rate of P14 per kilowatt, one of the highest in Eastern Visayas.

Aside from wind farms to be constructed by the CIP, Berbon said similar facilities will also be built in the town of San Isidro by the two domestic energy providers, the Aboitiz Renewables Inc. and Vena Energy.

The CIP, known for its involvement in developing large-scale offshore wind projects globally, became the first foreign investor to be granted site exclusivity in the Philippines following the authorization of foreign ownership in renewable energy projects in November 2022.

Berbon said the construction of the wind farms in the province will include wind turbines, cables, substations and other essential components.

The project, he added, is currently in the predevelopment phase and is expected to commence ground investigations in the first quarter of 2024 and will continue until the end of 2025.

These investigations will involve utilizing equipment to measure wind speeds, seabed conditions and environmental factors.

Berbon said that this early, CIP was already in discussion with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to secure the grid connections.

This includes potential grid connection points such as the Calbayog 138-kilovolt substation in Calbayog City in Samar province; the San Isidro 138-kV substation in San Isidro town of Northern Samar; a potential new station near a 350-kV transmission line; and the Calbayog-Allen 138-kV transmission project linking Calbayog to Northern Samar’s port town of Allen.

Berbon said the company is determined to complete these projects within the tenure of President Marcos, who is pushing for more utilization of renewable power energies like wind.